Electrical measuring system



Oct. l0, 1939. E. G-LcbwATzm` 2,175,890

I ELECTRICAL MEASURING SYSTE Filed Nov. 12, 193s Fi I.

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Passed oct. 1o, 1939 ELECTRICAL MEAsUmNG SYSTEM Ernst Glowatzki, Berlin-Reinickendorf, Germany, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application November 12, 1935, Serial No. 49,394

'- In Germany December 18, 1934 3 Claims.

My invention relates to electricalv instruments and amplifiers and. concerns particularly a device for measuring alternating voltages.

It is an object of my invention to provide a 5 highly sensitive device for measuring or amplifying alternating voltages of any frequency from.

zero to ultra high radio frequencies with an ac curacy unimpaired by frequency variations.

'Another object of my invention is to provide l0 an arrangement imposing substantially no load on the circuit measured and consuming relatively little energy from an auxiliary source. It is also an object of my invention to provide an arrangement permitting the use of directcurrent instruments'for measuring alternating currents or voltage without the necessity for-using dry rectifiers.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a direct-current-fed arrangement for amplifying alternating voltages in which the altermatingcurrent circuit shall be without disturbing effect on the direct-current circuit and vice versa..

'I'he invention will be understood incre readily from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying 85 drawing, and those features v.of the invention which are believed to be novel and patentable will be pointed out in the claims appended hereto. In the drawing, Fig. l is a schematic circuit diagram of one embodimentof the 4invention and Fig. 2 is a calibrationcurve of the apparatus of Fig. 1. n

In the embodimentl illustrated in the drawing, there is.` provided a three-element electric valve orfdischargetube I Iyhaving a Wheatstone bridge I2 connected in its plate circuit. Input terminals I3 and I4 of the apparatus are connected in the control electrode circuit of the tube II in the usual manner.' The tube II is preferably of the vacuum type and contains an anode or plate I5,

` a cathode I5, and a controlelectrode or a grid I1. A grid-biasing battery I8 is preferably provided to bias the control electrode I1 negatively. The battery I8 may be connected in series with the cathode I6 and the control electrode I1 through a resistor I9; The terminals I3 and Il,

to which the voltage to be measured is applied, are connected between the control electrode I1 and the cathode I6 with a condenser 20 in series. A source of current 2| is provided forheating the cathode I6, and a'source of plate current 22 5 is connected between the cathode IB andthe anode I5 in series with the Wheatstone bridge The Wheatstone bridge I2 comprises a series pair of bridge arms 23 and 24 in parallel with 10 another series pair of bridge arms 25 and 25. A current-responsive device 21 is connected in a cross circuit between the common terminal of the bridgearms 23 and 24 and a common teri minal of the bridge arms 25 and 26. The cur- 15 rent-responsive device 21 may take the form "of an indicating electrical instrument, such as dArsonval galvanometer, for example, which is sensitivew but responsive only to direct currents.

To facilitate balancing the bridge I2, a low-re- 20v sistance potentiometer 28 may be provided with portio on either side of its sliding tap included in bridge arms 25 and A25, respectively.

At least one of the bridge arms 23 to 26 includes or'is composed of a material which varies 25 in impedance in response to variations in current flowing therein. Preferably, to'increase the-.effect, `diagonally opposite bridge arm's 'are composed of such a material. For example, the bridge armsv 23 and 25 may comprise resistors which de- 30 crease in resistance as the current thereinincreases. For instance, the resistors 23 and 26 may be made of carbon or of a composition of carbon and silicon carbide, such as described in United states Patent No. 1,822,742 to McEach'rcn. as

Instead of a material with a'falling resistance characteristic for the 'variable impedance arm or arms, I may employ a material which increases in resistance with the current therein. Still greater response may be obtained by using both 40 rising and falling resistance vcharacteristic resistors and placing them in alternate bridge arms. For example, the bridge arms 23 and 25 may be` carbon resistors, as mentioned, andthe bridge arms 24 and 2 5 maybe metallic resistors. 45

In case the bridge arms 23 to 26 are composed of a material which varies in resistance owing to temperatur'e change caused by the heating effect of current therein, greater sensitivity will be obtained by enclosing the resistors constituting the 50 bridge arms in vacuum receptacles in order to minimize the dissipation of heat and conserve the heat produced by current flow for raising the temperature of the resistor, and in order also to prevent disintegration of the resistor material, 55

thus permitting the utilization of higher current densities and the obtaining of greater heating effects. For example, the bridge arms 23 and 26 may comprise carbon filament lamps and the bridge arms 24 and 25 may comprise tungsten lament lamps.

'Ihe elements of the apparatus are so chosen that the bridge I2 is balanced and the instrument 21 reads zero when no voltage is applied to the input terminals I3 and I4. Any required initial adjustments in the relative resistances of the bridge arms may be made by means of the potentiometer 28. A predetermined normal plate current, depending upon the characteristics of the tube II and the voltages of the current sources I8, 2|, and 22, will ow through the tube I5 and divide between the branches of the bridge I2. However, owing to the fact that the bridge is balanced, no current will flow in the instrument 21.

When a voltage to be measured is applied to the input terminals I3 and I4, the voltage of the control grid will be varied and, consequently, the platey current will vary, as well as the branch currents in the bridge I2. Owing to the characteristics of the bridge arms, their resistance will vary as the currents in them vary and the bridge I2 Will be unbalanced to an extent dependent upon the voltage at the terminals I3 and I4 and the variation in plate current produced thereby. The resulting reading of' the instrun ment 21 provides a measure of the voltage applied to the input terminals I3 and I4.

Alternating voltages applied to the terminals I3 and I4 will cause an alternating current to be superimposed upon the normal plate current of the tube II but the average currents in the tube II and the bridge I2 will remain unchanged. Nevertheless, the alternating component .of current in the bridge arms will have a heating eiect varying their resistance and unbalancing the bridge to g-ve a reading in the instrument 21 dependent upon the voltage applied to the terminals I3 and I4. At any frequency, including zero frequency or direct current, the voltages applied to the terminals I3 and I4 will cause a deilection of the instrument 21, varying substantiallyin proportion to the square of the applied voltage, owing to the fact that the bridge unbalance is caused by the heating effects of the cur-rent variations in the bridge arms. Since the circuit elements traversed by alternating current are free from reactance, variations in frequency are without eifect on the measurement. Therefore, the same calibration curve of scale divisions against measured voltage, illustrated in Fig. 2, may be'used for the apparatus regardless of frequency, down to andincluding zero frequency.' It is evident that the direct currents produced in the circuits cannot have any effect in any other apparatus to which the terminals I3 and I4 may be connected and, likewise, that alternating currents do not enter into or cause any disturbance in the instrument 21.

It will be apparent that my measuring and amplifying arrangement is of great utility in'a wide variety of applications, such as remote signaling, electro-acoustics, gauge indications, noise potential meters, sound impression meters, as well as radio broadcasting apparatus in which independence of frequency and minimum current consumption are of importance.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle of operation of my invention together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure b Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A voltage-responsive apparatus comprising in combination, a discharge tube having an anode, a cathode, and a control electrode,two pairs of impedances connected in series-parallel as the arms or a Wheatstone bridge, a `source of cur` rent connected in series with said Wheatstone bridge and said tube through its anode and cathode, and a current-responsive device connected in a cross circuit of said Wheatstone bridge, the voltage to be measured being applied between the cathode and control electrode of said tube, one of said bridge arms being composed ofmaterial tending to increase in impedance with increase in current therein and an adjacent bridge arm being composed of a material tending to decrease in impedance with increase in current therein.

2. A voltage-responsive apparatus comprising in combination, a discharge tube having an anode, a cathode, and a control electrode, two pairs of impedances connected in series-parallel as the arms of a Wheatstone bridge, a source of current connected in series with said Wheatstone bridge and said tube through its anode and cathode, and a current-responsive instrument connected in a cross circuit of saidWheatstone bridge, the voltage to be measured being applied between the cathode and control electrode o! said tube, one of said bridge arms being composed of a material tending to vary in resistance with tube, said bridge arms comprising alternately tungsten filament and carbon filament lamps. ERNST GLOWA'IZKI. 

